Abstract
A design of a differential variable-gain amplifier (VGA) with high IP3 (third-order intercept point) is discussed. To improve IP3, the third-order intermodulation products, which are generated by both an intrinsic third-order nonlinearity and a second-order interaction of a transistor, are minimized by using a nonlinear conductance. Unlike prior methods, the proposed method enables the achievement of both constant and broadband IP3 for various VGA gain settings. A design example with virtual but realistic BSIM4 transistor models is discussed to verify the analysis. The resultant amplifier example was designed and simulated in a 28-nm FDSOI CMOS technology. The amplifier achieved more than 15 dBm input-referred IP3 across a 2.4-GHz bandwidth from 0.3-to-2.7 GHz with a variable gain of 0-to-8.5 dB while consuming 3.3 mA from a 1.5-V supply.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by The University of Calgary, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Grant RGPIN/358707), Canada Research Chair program, and CMC Microsystems.
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Asgari, V., Belostotski, L. A highly linear wideband 0.3-to-2.7 GHz variable-gain amplifier. Analog Integr Circ Sig Process 91, 473–478 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10470-017-0948-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10470-017-0948-9